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Veil (HP)
|affiliation = Death |bgcolor1 = |bgcolor2 = }} The Veil is an enigmatic structure located in the Department of Mysteries. It seems to be a manifestation of the barrier between the land of the living and the land of the dead. One cannot travel freely between the two worlds, as it is a one-way trip. The Unspeakables who work in the Department of Mysteries have likely studied it closely. History Ministry of Magic A physical manifestation of the barrier was somehow kept in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries; in the Death Chamber, a room large and echoing, dimly lit and rectangular, and kept in the centre of a raised stone dais in a sunken, great stone pit some twenty feet deep, with benches running all around the room and descending in steep steps like an amphitheatre (or like the Wizengamot Courtroom 10) and surrounded by a cold air and complete stillness. On the dais stood the Veil, which was represented as a tall stone pointed archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling that it seemed amazing that it was still standing (especially as it was not supported by any surrounding wall), and the archway was hung with the Veil; which appeared as a tattered black curtain, gently fluttering and swaying very slightly "as though it had just been touched" (perhaps due to the souls of the dying passing unseen into the next life through it). Communication through the Veil appears to be impossible, though when a living person approaches it, the souls of the dead, recognising a loved one nearby, try to communicate. Though the living could have the strangest feeling that there was someone standing right behind the Veil on the other side of the archway, their words are inaudible except for "faint whispering and murmuring noises" coming from the other side of the Veil. When the living person tries to communicate, the dead try harder and their whispering and murmuring becomes louder. If those who hear the whispering stare at the archway long enough, they shortly become entranced and mesmerised by it, believing it had a kind of beauty about (old though it was), unknowingly walking towards it, intrigued by the gently rippling Veil, and feeling a very strong inclination to climb up on the dais and walk through it. However, this would prove fatal, as passing through the Veil would cause instant death. The Veil reacts to the passage of a living person by fluttering for a moment "as though in a high wind," then falling back into place. It is impossible for others to pull whoever passes through out without passing through and dying themselves, and it was already too late for those passing through to be saved (despite only a few seconds passing), as they were already dead. Battle of the Department of Mysteries When Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood travelled to the Ministry in 1996, they found themselves in the Death Chamber and strangely drawn to the Veil. Hermione, however, urged caution and eventually to leave the room altogether. She was scared of the Veil and considered it unnatural. Even though she did not have any idea what it was, she felt that it was dangerous. Her advice proved difficult to follow as Harry, Luna, Ginny, and Neville were all entranced by the Veil (presumably because they all believed more or less in some type of afterlife, while it is implied that Hermione didn't), with Harry and Luna hearing the voices of their deceased loved ones from beyond. falling through the Veil in 1996]] At the height of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, most of the fighting was set in the Death Chamber; and Bellatrix Lestrange hit her cousin Sirius Black squarely on the chest with a curse, throwing him off balance and sending him through the Veil and to his death. Harry did not believe that Sirius had died at first, and kept saying that he would come out of the archway from the other side of the curtains, much like how (when he was a baby) he thought his parents would get up after being hit with the Killing Curse. Behind the scenes *In the film, the arch is very tall and quite narrow, and the Veil appears to be some kind of mist instead of a curtain. *The Veil is a reference to an English phrase, "beyond the veil." The term originates from Hebrew tradition as a veil or curtain that separates the main body of the Temple from the tabernacle. In modern English, dying or having a near-death experience is sometimes called "going beyond the veil." *When Harry and Luna approach the arch claiming to hear voices, Hermione exclaims that it is just an empty archway; although the Veil can be clearly seen by the viewers, and, presumably, by Luna and Harry. This could reference the similar way in which Thestrals can only be seen by those who have witnessed and accepted a death. Though Hermione could likely also see the Veil, but was still calling it empty; meaning there was nothing substantial in it. *In the film, Bellatrix hit Sirius with the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra, killing him before he passes through the Veil. In the book, the curse that hits Sirius is not identified (although it is rumoured to be Stupefy because of the red light), and his being knocked through the Veil is what causes his death. *In the sixth book, it is stated that Dumbledore's funeral is the first Harry Potter ever attended. It is explained that no funeral was ever held for Sirius Black because his body was never recovered. This presumably indicates that the body left the world of the living entirely when it fell through the veil. *After the seventh book was released, a fan asked J. K. Rowling if Harry talked with Albus Dumbledore somewhere in the Veil, to which Rowling clarified that rather than the Veil, the place of their conversation was the Limbo.J.K. Rowling Web Chat *J. K. Rowling has said that the reactions of Harry and his friends to the veil vary about how much belief or doubt they had about what lies beyond. Additionally, she has stated that the Veil has been there as long as the Ministry of Magic itself. *In the video game, a cutscene shows Bellatrix casting a spell similar to how Stupefy is depicted in the video game - a red bolt of spikes - to knock Sirius through the Veil. Appearances * * * * * * Notes and references es:Velo (HP) pt-br:Véu pl:Zasłona (HP) Category:Afterlife Category:Battle of the Department of Mysteries Category:Death-related magic Category:Magical objects